Commonwealth v. Mitchell

• Decision Date: 19 July 2016
• Docket Number: No. 714 CAP,714 CAP
• Citation: 141 A.3d 1277
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Wayne Cordell MITCHELL, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

141 A.3d 1277

COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee

v.Wayne Cordell MITCHELL, Appellant.

No. 714 CAP

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted April 26, 2016.

Decided July 19, 2016.

Matthew C. Lawry, Esq., Philadelphia, Federal Community Defender Ofc. for East Dist. of PA, for Wayne Cordell Mitchell.

Karen T. Edwards, Esq., Ronald Michael Wabby Jr., Esq., Pittsburgh, Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, Amy Zapp, Esq., Harrisburg, PA Office of Attorney General, for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

SAYLOR, C.J., BAER, TODD, DONOHUE, DOUGHERTY, WECHT, JJ.

OPINION

Justice WECHT.

In this capital case, Wayne Cordell Mitchell appeals the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County dismissing his second petition for relief under the Post Conviction Relief Act (“PCRA”), 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 9541 –46.¹

Mitchell was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the September 10, 1997 murder of his estranged wife, Robin Little. Mitchell and Little began dating in high school and had a turbulent relationship marked by frequent arguments. In September of 1996, Mitchell threatened to kill Little if she ever left him. A son, Malik, was born to the couple in January of 1997. Mitchell and Little married in April of 1997, when Little was eighteen and Mitchell was nineteen. Mitchell lived with Little and her mother for several months in the spring of 1997. Little ended the relationship as arguments continued, and she asked Mitchell to move out in July of 1997. Little and Malik moved into her brother's home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for approximately a month, but they returned to Little's mother's home in Pittsburgh in August of 1997.

On September 1, 1997, Little asked Mitchell if she could borrow his bus pass. He replied that she could do so if she picked it up from him at his place of employment. Upon Little's arrival, the two began arguing about a man named Brian that Little had been seeing. When Little told Mitchell that she and Brian had engaged in sexual relations, Mitchell became angry, dragged Little into a supervisor's office, and raped her. Little reported the rape to Pittsburgh police officers and went to Magee Women's Hospital, where hospital personnel prepared a rape kit.

While Little was in the hospital, the police located and arrested Mitchell. Mitchell waived his Miranda² rights and confessed to the rape. Mitchell was charged with rape, terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, and simple assault. He remained in jail pending a preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for September 9, 1997. While Mitchell was in jail awaiting the preliminary hearing, Little filed a petition for Protection from Abuse (“PFA”).³ The court granted Little's petition and entered a ten-day temporary order directing that Mitchell have no contact with Little pending a final PFA hearing, which was scheduled for September 10, 1997.

On September 9, 1997, Mitchell waived his preliminary hearing in exchange for a nominal bond, with a condition that he seek immediate in-patient treatment for alcohol abuse. For reasons that were contested at trial, Mitchell was never admitted to the designated treatment facility. Instead, he went home and began telephoning Little. After several calls, Mitchell convinced Little to allow him to come to her home. Mitchell arrived at Little's residence at approximately 4:15 p.m., and the two argued about Brian, the man whom Little was seeing. Mitchell left shortly after 6:00 p.m., and spent a portion of the evening drinking alcohol with friends. Upon returning home at 1:00 a.m., Mitchell called Little, apologized, and convinced her to allow him to come to her residence to talk about their son.

Sheila Britton was the former director of a college-counseling program at the high school that Mitchell and Little attended. She had remained in contact with Mitchell after he left the school. Ms. Britton reported that Mitchell called her at approximately 1:00 a.m. on September 10, 1997, and stated that he was going to Little's house to kill her. Mitchell told Ms. Britton that Little had “disrespected” him and that he planned to dress in black clothing, go to Little's home, and “do what he had to do.” Notes of Testimony, 10/5/1999 (“N.T. Trial”), at 326–27.

Mitchell arrived at Little's residence at 1:30 a.m. He found Little sitting with a man on her porch. The man quickly left when Mitchell and Little began arguing. Mitchell punched Little in the face and stomach, then dragged her toward an empty lot near her home, repeatedly striking her when she resisted. Little screamed for help, yelling, “He's going to kill me.” Id. at 383. Mitchell placed his hand over her mouth and continued to drag her. As they passed a house, Mitchell saw a knife lying on a porch. He punched Little several more times, disabling her, while he retrieved the knife. When Little attempted to stand, Mitchell pushed her down and stabbed her in the stomach. Mitchell then removed Little's clothes, wrapped his hands around her neck, and raped her, first vaginally and then anally. After the rape, Mitchell stabbed Little multiple times in the neck.

Ms. Britton stated that Mitchell called her again at 4:00 a.m. and told her that “Robin Little is no more.” Id. at 330. He also told her that he was going to his uncle's house to establish an alibi, and that he planned to attend the PFA hearing later that morning, knowing that Little would not appear. Mitchell attended the PFA hearing, and, when Little did not appear, the court dismissed Little's petition and vacated the temporary PFA order. When Mitchell returned home, his mother informed him of Little's death. Mitchell denied any involvement, but his mother was concerned and insisted that he be evaluated at a hospital. Mitchell agreed, and went to St. Francis Hospital at approximately noon on September 10, 1997. Homicide detectives quickly identified Mitchell as a suspect and approached him in the hospital's waiting area when he was released. Mitchell agreed to accompany the detectives to their office, where he provided a statement in which he confessed to raping Little on September 1, 1997, and to raping and murdering her on September 10, 1997. In addition to the charges relating to the September 1, 1997 rape, Mitchell then was charged with criminal homicide, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse (“IDSI”), and unlawful restraint. The Commonwealth timely filed and served a notice of its intention to seek imposition of the death penalty.

On October 1, 1999, Mitchell pleaded guilty to the rape, IDSI, and unlawful restraint charges arising from the September 10, 1997 sexual assault and homicide. The trial court deferred sentencing upon those convictions until after the trial on the remaining charges, which commenced before a jury on October 4, 1999. During the guilt phase of the trial, the Commonwealth introduced Ms. Britton's testimony about the two telephone calls from Mitchell, which occurred shortly before and shortly after the murder. Mitchell pursued a diminished capacity defense based upon a psychological condition and long-term alcohol abuse. The jury rejected Mitchell's defense and found him guilty of first-degree murder for the September 10, 1997 killing of Little, as well as the remaining charges arising from the September 1, 1997 sexual assault. Because the Commonwealth sought imposition of the death penalty, the jury remained empaneled for a separate penalty phase hearing. The jury found two aggravating circumstances and no mitigating circumstances, and accordingly sentenced Mitchell to death.

On direct appeal, this Court affirmed Mitchell's judgment of sentence. See Mitchell I, supra n. 1. Mitchell filed a petition for writ of certiorari, which the Supreme Court of the United States denied on January 16, 2007. Thus, Mitchell's judgment of sentence became final on that date. See 42 Pa.C.S. § 9545(b)(3). On February 21, 2007, Mitchell timely filed a pro se PCRA petition. Lawyers with the Federal Community Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania subsequently entered an appearance on Mitchell's behalf. Following several extensions of time, Mitchell filed an amended PCRA petition on April 28, 2009. Among the thirteen claims that Mitchell raised in his amended petition was an allegation of trial counsel ineffectiveness for failure to investigate and develop evidence that would have undermined Ms. Britton's credibility as a witness. As noted, supra, at Mitchell's trial in 1999, Ms. Britton testified regarding two telephone calls that she received from Mitchell on the night of the murder. The first occurred at 1:00 a.m., when Mitchell told her that he planned to kill Little because she had “disrespected” him. N.T. Trial at 326. The second call occurred at 4:00 a.m., when Mitchell told Ms. Britton that “Robin Little is no more.” Id. at 330.

In March 2008, then-assistant federal defender Carol Wright interviewed Ms. Britton while preparing Mitchell's federal habeas corpus petition. At the PCRA hearing, Mitchell presented an affidavit from Attorney Wright, which indicated that she met with Ms. Britton on August 1, 2007, and subsequently spoke with Ms. Britton on the telephone on March 20, 2008. Attorney Wright stated that Ms. Britton did not reveal the information relevant to this appeal during the August 1, 2007 meeting, but that, during the March 20, 2008 telephone conversation, Ms. Britton offered the following information for the first time in the course of these proceedings:

[T]he morning Robin died, Robin's mother called and [Ms. Britton] went over to her house. The police were there and they questioned her, but she went totally blank and could not remember anything about her conversations with [Mitchell] the previous night. She did not tell the police officers anything about her conversations at that time. That evening when she went to bed all she started to remember [was] her interactions with [Mitchell] the previous night. She told me the following morning she called a mental

...